After a long career in the film and television industry, Natalie, 63, dedicated herself to her creative passions, drawing inspiration from unexpected places, such as her involvement with the CLSA. Discover how a visit to a CLSA Data Collection Site sparked the idea for her latest creative project.
What do you hope the CLSA will achieve?
When I can, I always enjoy participating in the advancement of society and improving our living conditions, as much as possible. I’ve always been involved in my community. So, I think in any society, it’s normal to give a little bit of our time to move things forward. Aging is certainly something that concerns me too. As someone who is aging, I want to stay healthy as much as possible. I imagine that the study will help us age in a healthier way.
What does healthy aging mean to you? What’s your current approach to aging healthily?
For now, it’s about staying active, both physically and socially, and not isolating myself. I nurture my network of friends; I enjoy cultural outings, nature walks, and travel. It’s about continuing to be and feel useful to society. It’s also about keeping my brain active by working on projects. For me, that’s what drives me. It’s having new projects. It’s not just about traveling and resting—it’s also about staying mentally alert.
Would you say that this is part of your philosophy for healthy aging?
Yes. If we don’t have financial issues, I don’t see why we should keep working. I’d rather volunteer and learn new things outside of what I learned in the past, exploring other areas of expertise, meeting new groups. For instance, I’m currently part of a gardening collective. I’m learning from that, and I’m also taking online courses. For me, it’s really important to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve done a few trips alone with my little RV, traveling as far as Alaska and the Yukon. But I’m starting to feel more worried about traveling alone, realizing I need more support. As I age, I feel a loss of confidence and an increased need for support—the weight of the mental load is growing. It’s becoming more important.
Personally, I find aging a bit difficult. It’s about grieving continuously, throughout our lives. When children grow up, they leave. We lose our parents. It’s always about grieving. I find that part tough, along with the decline in our physical abilities. So, when I talk about autonomy, that’s what’s difficult with aging. That’s why I want to try to stay as autonomous as long as possible. And creating art is a way to show that we’re still alive, I think. That’s why it’s important for me to continue doing creative projects as I age too, because it shows that we still have a place in society.
Why do you think healthy aging is important?
The idea, I think, is autonomy—being independent in general, both physically and financially. I want to stay autonomous as long as I can.
It’s also about making people more aware of their health, realizing the problems that can arise if we don’t take care of ourselves. It’s also about having a balanced life and enjoying as much pleasure as possible for as long as we can. Being there for my children, and maybe someday for my grandchildren.
What motivates you to keep participating in the CLSA?
Usually, when I get involved in something, I see it through to the end. Loyalty is very important to me, whether it’s for projects like this or with my friends and family. And of course, I’m curious about what will happen with all the data.
It’s also thanks to this study that I was able to participate in medical imaging, among other things. That’s what triggered the idea of doing a personal project—if there’s something in it for me too, I think that’s amazing. Also, I see that the people at the CLSA work very hard, we [participants] feel welcome, and we’re well supported.
I’d love to ask you about this personal project—you use medical imaging to create art. How did this project start? What does it represent for you?
It all started because my background in film. I studied film. I mostly worked as a manager though. I thought about directing, screenwriting, but I realized that requires a certain temperament. Then I had my family. Film production is very demanding in terms of schedule. So, I worked a 9 to 5 job. I’ve always worked a lot in film and culture, but in the end, I didn’t get to create the way I wanted to create.
The creative process has always interested me. As I mentioned earlier, I love projects. So, when I saw my skeleton in full—from head to toe—at the CLSA Data Collection Site, I thought “Wow!” Sometimes you only see bits and pieces, or they take images here and there, but it’s not always interesting. But there, I realized, “Hey, that’s me.” I realized that under my outer shell, something exists, and I wondered, “What could I do with that?”
I started reaching out to the CLSA to get some of my files. Recently, we did an MRI of my brain. It’s stunning to see those images. I gathered a whole bunch of medical imagery—my dentist, mammograms, my heart. And now, from all these pieces, I’ll be able to create something.
Add to that the fact that I’ve always been interested in textiles. I had a small business where I recycled boat sails to make bags. Now, I’ve started developing embroidery, but not just any embroidery—I’m doing photo embroidery: using photos from my history or my family to create enhanced images.
So, I’m having to learn embroidery techniques—always learning—and figuring out how to highlight things with my images. I haven’t fully decided how to showcase these images yet, but I know I’ll probably print them on fabric. Again, I’m testing things out. I started with sublimation. It’s forcing me to do research, testing, and thinking: How am I going to print these images? How will I work with them in photo editing software, or maybe do a cyanotype? So, when I talk about projects, it pushes me to develop new skills. The purpose isn’t entirely defined yet. Will I just make one image of myself with all the pieces, or will it be a series?
There are small art galleries around here. I think maybe one day I’ll do an exhibition, but that’s not the ultimate goal. The goal is to have a story with parts of my body. For example, the heart is an organ we took photos of to check my health, but it also means something else. My brain, it’s not just an image, it’s my thoughts, my worries, my dreams.
Seeing what’s beneath the skin also shows our vulnerability. We often see the outside, but beneath this layer, there’s this powerful machine. That’s also what I find amazing, seeing how science digs deep. It forces me to be interested in what’s under my skin. It’s also scary to see that we’re just a physical envelope, that something could easily go wrong. We are very fragile, life is very fragile. And that’s what I realize when I look at these images.
I want to use these images and probably fabrics I already have, like my wedding dress, leftover pieces from sewing projects for my children . . . I want to take things from my universe and create a story that may be very personal or maybe not at all.
As we age, we realize that if we don’t do what we want to do now, we may never do it. We shouldn’t wait. For me, it’s creativity. I feel like I have less and less to risk. I can open up, break taboos. So, I’m going to reveal myself and say what I need to say. Otherwise, I’ll never do it.
